The next day Herissmon insisted that he traveled with Kuni in his backpack, the purple haired man relented, he couldn't say no to those big blue eyes of Herissmon's, Kuni realized he was quite the sucker for puppy dog eyes.
On their way to the train station they overheard more people whispering about the rumours. So it wasn't just isolated in Ritou after all. That was both annoying and concerning to the Raiden, he really hoped what happened yesterday was just a one off thing.
Luck seemed to be on his for once as nothing weird happened on his way to college this time. Going through his usual routines and classes. Kunikuzushi occasionally let Herissmon stretch when they were alone throughout the day. Kuni was just glad Herissmon didn't mind the more boring classes.
The Digimon seemed to enjoy just watching his partner going on with his day. The two were enjoying lunch together outside, Kuni had made the two of them some sandwiches. He nibbled on his bread when Herissmon suddenly froze mid bite.
Kuni took notice of this. "Not to your liking?"He asked, the digimon shook his head as a no. Kuni frowned at that.
"I feel funny…"He said, dropping the bread. The innards of the sandwich spilled out as the hedgehog suddenly rushed off. Kuni blinked dumbfounded. Before snapping out of his stupor.
"Wait! Herissmon!"He dropped his own food to run after the hedgehog. He could barely keep up with the smaller creature as the digimon disappeared deeper into the college garden. Kuni had to thank all the Archons above that there wasn't a soul around to witness him running after the Rookie. Making his way through the flora, careful to not trample too much in his attempt to catch up.
He was moving slower than what he'd like, though nothing he could do about it, as his injuries kept him from going overboard. He finally caught a glimpse of yellow in the annoyingly dense garden, awkwardly hopping over a tree root, weaving through the shrubbery, he finally caught up to Herissmon, who was staring at the fence that separated the garden from the Statue of Seven on the cliffside.
"Herissmon! What's gotten into you?"He asked as he made his way over. The digimon was in some trance-like state not reacting until Kuni physically touched him. The Digimon flinched back to reality.
"Hey don't do that again okay? You scared me there for a second."Kuni scolded Herissmon. The digimon pulled a face, he seemed confused. "Herissmon? What's wrong?"Kuni was starting to worry for his spikey friend.
"The feeling…is gone…"What a rather cryptic thing to say. This didn't make Kuni feel any less worried. Kunikuzushi bent down to level himself with Herissmon. The area was quiet aside from the occasional wind blowing through the foliage.
"Care to explain?"The human asked, keeping his tone soft. Something was clearly bothering Herissmon, though Kuni had no idea what it could be.
"Sorry…I just felt something coming from here, but it's gone now.''Herissmon tried to explain. Kuni gave a slow nod. Maybe it was just some weird digimon thing he didn't understand.
"Could you promise me you won't run off like that again?"The Raiden asked, staring right into those big icy blue eyes with his own purples.
"Hmm…I'll try,"He sounded less upbeat than normal."Sorry for making you worry so much."He apologized. Kuni sighed and pulled him closer into a careful hug. Holding him for a few minutes. The light reflected off the statue gracefully. After a bit, Herissmon and Kunikuzushi walked back to the main area of the garden.
The air behind them shimmered yellow and blue for a moment before settling back to normal.
The rest of the day went on without any strange happenings, much to Kuni's relief. Maybe it really was just a freak accident that dragged the two into the Digital point.
A few days went by, Kunikuzushi nearly forgot about the incident on the train by this point, getting back into the grind of daily life. Everything was almost the same, except of course for Herissmon now being in his life. Not that he minded it. Having the Digimon around was refreshing and less lonely overall.
The unusual duo were hanging out in the park this time as Kuni had no classes these days, sitting on a rather secluded bench. The world suddenly shifted around them. Kuni cursed as he nearly fell off the bench when the bright light like before flashed. Herissmon jumped out of the backpack on high alert as the Digital Point solidied.
Kuni cursed his luck. What were the odds they'd get dragged back into this space? He didn't have much time to think as another one of those strange yellow monsters showed up. "Herissmon!" Kuni called out to his Digimon. The grey and yellow digimon jumped to attention as the enemy approached.
"….!"It screeched at them. Kuni covered his ears as the sound grated on his hearing. It was the exact same type that attacked them on the train! Herissmon fired his quills at the rag-doll-like thing. It covered its face with its gangly arms, taking the hit. The contact made the attack explode. The confrontation didn't take nearly as long as the last time as Herissmon made quick work of the attacker.
Kuni sighed with relief but their worries weren't over yet, they were still trapped inside the Digital Point. "How do we even escape?"Kuni wondered out loud. He grabbed his things, holding it tightly. He saw Herissmon's ears twitch and swirl around, he was trying to detect if there were anymore enemies around, It seemed safe for now.
"I dunno…"Well that didn't bode well. Herissmon didn't know either. They couldn't just sit still either. So with a shared look the two set off to find a way out. Kuni carefully walked over the blue grass, stepping on the weird digital tiles that made small digital-like particles appear in the air. It was rather pretty but he couldn't get distracted by something so childish. Up ahead he could see more of those monsters gathering around something small.
Herissmon gasped as they got closer, they were attacking another Digimon! Herissmon was sure it was Digimon despite never having seen or met others like him before. The digimon in question was on the larger end of the size spectrum. It was a yellow fox. "We gotta help it Kuni!" Herissmon spoke up.
Kuni frowned, he rather not…but Herissmon seemed fired up. "Alright, go for it." The fake digimon were too preoccupied with trapping the fox to notice Herissmon's approach.
"Lightning Quills!" Herissmon fired his electrical quills at the nearest creature. A series of startled beeps rang through the air as the aggressive monsters realized Herissmon's presence. The fox took this distraction to its advantage and threw an attack of its own out.
"Diamond Storm!"Leaf like projectiles hit one in the back. The attack exploded outwards, sending the unfortunate faker flying into a half digitized tree. Kuni flinched at the sound that followed before the creature burst into yellow particles. The fox looked hurt, and surprised to see another Digimon in the area. One it didn't recognize at all.
Its eyes widened when it saw the human watching close by. It made its way over to the human, he flinched at its approach. Clearly wary but worry colored his face once he saw what state it was in. "Relax, I won't hurt you."The fox reassured the human. It glanced at the fight. The hedgehog seemed to be doing okay though it would have to step in to help.
"We'll converse once the fighting is done."It said, having caught its second wind, it rejoined the fight. With two digimon working together they made quick work of the imposters.
Kuni felt helpless watching the two fight. Though he was grateful that Herissmon had help this time around. The last enemy burst with a double team attack from the two Rookies. "Phew.. that was a close one!" Herissmon exclaimed as he relaxed his quills and claws. The fox nodded at that, its legs shaking. Closer inspection told Kuni it was more hurt than it let on, scratches and bruises littered its body. Kuni was surprised when he noticed blood on its yellow fur. Digimon could bleed?
"Thank you for your assistance."It bowed as best it could. Struggling to stay steady, Kuni stepped forward to catch it.
"Easy there…uh?"He fished for a name. The fox caught on.
"Renamon, and you?"Renamon was very polite, a stark contrast to the childish nature of Herissmon.
"I'm Herissmon!"The digimon introduced, then he motioned to the purple haired human,"This is Kuni, my very best friend!" The human turned red in the face at the childish introduction, Renamon heard him cough before speaking, recomposing himself.
"Raiden Kunikuzushi, though I guess you can call me Kuni as well, it is shorter."He seemed reluctant to give nickname privileges to someone they just met. Renamon thought it over before replying .
"Kuni it is then."It gave a nod. "So you are both trapped in here as well?"Renamon probed. The fox got a yes on that question.
The human looked around a bit before shrugging the pack off his back. Rummaging through it for something. He pulled out a metal box, decorated in cute pink foxes. "Good thing I brought this along, I was saving it for when my own injuries needed cleaning but you look like you need it more."He explained. "I'm only doing this because Herissmon wanted to help you."He quickly added, turning his head to the side to hide a growing blush. Renamon giggled slightly into its gloved paw.
It took a few minutes for the rather grumpy human to clean the yellow fox's fur, Herissmon kept talking about his favorite foods to pass the time, with Kuni chiming in every now and again. Renamon found the pair to be odd, but it wasn't a bad thing.
Deciding to trust the two Renamon explained how it got suddenly swept up by the Digital Point while minding its own business in the Digital World. "The Digital World?"The human parroted. Renamon nodded.
"It's the place all digimon come from and live, for the most part."Renamon said. "Though recently Digimon from all over have been disappearing into these,"Renamon motioned to the general surroundings. "As well as being attacked by those things,"It said.
"You too huh…ah right, the same is happening in the human world?"Kuni didn't know if he was using the right words there. Renamon understood well enough so it nodded along.
"This isn't the first time we've been caught up in a space like this."Kuni revealed. "Well it's the second time so I can't claim I know much more…"He said. He went quiet again for a moment to think.
"How did you get out last time?"Renamon asked. Both human and digimon thought hard about that.
"Hmm…I think we got out shortly after I beat all those meanies."Herissmon said, Kuni wished he had a name to call those things, maybe Herissmon had a clue. He seemed to understand them to some degree.
"I see… So the Digital Point released you both when the threat was eliminated?" It was worth a shot. "Then allow me to aid you, with us working together we'll escape faster."Renamon offered its assistance. Kuni saw no reason to refuse. He was relieved even to know that Herissmon wouldn't be fighting alone. He wished he could help more, but he had a feeling he'd only get in their way.
With that decided the party of three set off. Herissmon said he felt a tingling sensation in a certain direction, Renamon and Kuni felt nothing, Kuni frowned but he trusted Herissmon, he was curious to see where that feeling would lead them so he offered to carry the two, seeing as he couldn't do much else. Letting the two Digimon rest for a short while. Renamon attached itself to Kuni's back, Herissmon in his arms.
They set off to follow the feeling Herissmon had.